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2/12/2012 UPDATE: So here's the thing. Hubby & I are getting a divorce. I'm not advised to blog during this time so... Still on hold here. Will blog again when I can, I miss it so dearly. :)

I can still be reached via email: theunexpectedworldofmommyhood@gmail.com Thanks everyone for your prayers and support at this time. The going is tough, but I am tougher and know a better future is waiting. ~ Meg :)

9/26/2011 UPDATE: My blog is "on hold" for a little bit... there is A LOT going on around here {so there are no worries, everyone is healthy!} and I'm really just not ready to blog about it. I will be back. Thanks for understanding!! :)

Friday, April 29, 2011

Normally, a pound of organic strawberries costs about $5.99. (We don't normally buy organic strawberries for that reason!) The organic strawberries I bought today cost $1.99 a pound!! My husband tells me that these are "In Season" and that's why they're so cheap. Whatever the reason, I don't care ~ all I know is that I got TWELVE POUNDS of organic strawberries for the ripe (ha) old price of $23.88. I didn't calculate the tax into it. Hubby laughed at me for buying so many ~ but the reality is, I saved us A LOT of cash. The girls & I polished off a pound already between lunch & dinner. I've already frozen three pounds and I'll use up two pounds when I make strawberry cake (or pie, I can't decide!). That leaves us with six pounds. I will be freezing more of them so we can enjoy feeding our girls organic strawberries this summer!

I never make strawberry desserts because strawberries are so expensive (even regular strawberries are pricey) so I'm really excited to have a surplus. Otherwise I "feel bad" using them for baking or eating them myself ...like I'm wasting food that my kids should/could be eating... is that weird?

See how excited they are? They were chanting "Strawberries! Strawberries! Strawberries!" as they danced around the kitchen. I love my Little Funnies.

At the risk of sharing TMI (I really don't care today though & I'm pretty sure all of my readers are female), I got my period yesterday and it. has. sucked. Big Time. I had such a bad headache last night that I was having trouble focusing on anything (not eyeball-focusing, mind-focusing) and then it got SO bad that I threw up.
Violently. Like twelve times in a row.

Needless to say, I went to bed early and never got the chance to get Project365 up. Sorry. My bad. I am feeling better today but still haven't had the chance to edit/date-mark my pictures, etc. Will do this at naptime.

Thursday, April 28, 2011

We still don't have the results from the tests... or my grandparents aren't sharing. We don't really know.

Old people are weird.

Speaking of the Aged & Wise...

I confirmed with my biological grandma today that we will, in fact and for real, be meeting this year.

SCARY!!

EXCITING!!

My biological dad's side of the family lives in Florida.

And my parents' condo happens to be about a 3 hour drive from where they live.

My mom is trying to get us kids to bring our families there in August.

So... probably by September of this year, I will have met my birthfamily.

WICKED.

{Unfortunately, I may also meet them earlier as my grandfather will be buried in Florida should he pass sooner than later. Geez, that's such a morbid thought but it's the truth. And I might as well make something positive out of the trip, right?}

Okay and I asked her to be part of my Family Interview Project and she said Yes! I'm super excited!! Basically, the project involves me interviewing the older members of our families (I'm doing both adoptive & biological since I feel that I am part of both histories) on the family history, as well as their own life experience. It is not a simple project and I still have not begun the interview portion. I'm still in the organizing & typing up the questions part. It's getting there, this was not an overnight project nor did I plan for it to be. I want it to be good and right and something that our families will enjoy. My Nana was ready to start right then and there ~ lol ~ but I told her that we could wait until a better time. See, she had just sat down with my bio aunt in a restaurant for dinner. They had just ordered waters. She's so sweet, wanting to tell me all about the family instead of eating her dinner. I love these people so much. They love me so much. And they make it so very apparent. I feel so blessed to have them in my lives. And I can't wait to meet them. :)

But the idea of it all happening still makes me nervous as all get-out.

{Okay, what in the world does that mean "as all get-out" ?}

This morning, we took the girls down to our city's public school special education... "people". I'm not sure what to call them, evaluators maybe? We had to meet them at this magnet school in the city (which I was ridiculous, amazeball-ingly, impressed with) to get them tested for speech, and academics but mainly just for speech. We were there for two hours but it would have been much longer if we all hadn't gone ~ all being the five of us, yep even Snowdrop went. This way, Hubby could go with one girl into testing while I went with the other, two birds one stone. Snowdrop was an absolute doll the whole time and only got fussy for the last 1/2 hour (which was an hour after her naptime). She played with the toys in the room and generally stayed out of the "testers/teachers" ways. Both girls did REALLY great on the academic stuff, which was really awesome to see and I was so proud. All my hard work at teaching them stuff and reading to them is really paying off. Junie was even completing some of the DAYC 4 tests! Awesome!! Mags was a little... not shy, what's the word... she was acting silly and not doing things that I know she knows how to do ~ like sing the Alphabet, or Itsy Bitsy Spider...

I really can't explain how helpful just going IN for the testing was. Just to observe the things that these gals were observing and the little tips I picked up from them. Plus, these ladies were REALLY nice and the assessments were so detailed and they really seriously took the time to get to know the girls and read their background information. The gal who evaluated their speech said that she could barely understand them and was "sure" they'd get services. I'm not counting my eggs but I'm glad that she recognized the same things that I have been recognizing in the girls. Basically, it's a speech thing not a language thing ~ which is a good thing. That means that they can comprehend language and the different parts of it, but they physically can't get their mouths to do the right thing. I am one of the only ones who understands them and even I have a hard time sometimes. Junie has a bigger issue with the speech than Mags but I hope they are both recommended for services because I know they both can benefit from the services. Plus, if one is getting them and the other isn't ~ I think the other might hold back the first one from getting better. I don't know. Maybe?

They were also really impressed that the girls picked up ALL the toys before we left. They said that the kids don't normally do that. Leave it to my weird kids. They did not get that gene from me. Anyways, the school people just could not have been nicer. It was really pleasant. Mags thanked me on the way home for taking her there and said that she would like to go back there some day. These girls are just so sweet. I love them.

New Header as of today. I am really enjoying the creating of my headers. It's so relaxing.

Hope you are having a really great week! Mine is not super stellar but I'm hanging in there. I have even remembered to take pictures every day!! (I think!!! Haha!) It has rained here every day for what seems like five days. I think that's not an exaggeration. There has been so. much. rain. Flooding down south but we've been lucky not to have any here. The tornadoes even avoided us this time. {Whoooooooo!}

I have to go switch my laundry over and get to bed. I am finally doing my own laundry for the first time in more than two weeks. I have enough underwear and clothes that I don't neeeeed to do it every week ~ but man, did that pile get big. I am on my third load and about to put in a fourth.

It was fun to separate them into delicates, shirts & tank tops, pants/shorts, sweatshirts/sweaters.
I might have a mild form of OCD.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

My grandpa is sick. He was checked into the hospital this weekend with pneumonia but.... they are checking into other things... They are basically running a ton of tests on him because the pneumonia only showed in one lung which is usually an indicator of lung cancer.... I will let you know what happens with all that. Please keep him and my grandma in your prayers. I know she must be scared out of her mind... She married him at age 18 (he was a scandalous 13 years older) after exchanging letters with him for almost a year. My grandma is from Trinidad, my grandpa from Philly. They met when she visited her aunt, who lived across the street from my grandpa's family. They have been happily married ever since with six of seven children still living & over forty grandchildren & eight great-grandchildren.

{WOW!}

So please: prayers if you got 'em, best wishes if you don't pray, just please send a good thought into the air for my grandpa but especially for my grandma who will really need our support if this is "it". Thank you.

Easter was fun/okay/stressful (...one of my kids urinated out the side of her pull-up onto a kneeler at Mass...) and I have pictures to share (not of the urinated-on kneeler) .... but this stuff going on with my grandpa really has my mind otherwise occupied so... yeah. That's all for now.

I'm hoping I feel inspired to blog later on. I miss you guys. Thanks for understanding.

Saturday, April 23, 2011

So I totally found a picture from April 15th, aka Day 105 that I thought I missed, when I was unloading pictures from my camera! I am super excited!! This is a picture of a bowl thingy that I got from Goodwill. I really don't know much about it. There are no markings on it from what I can tell. The top part sits on like a brass (?) foot. But I really thought it was weird and cool, and it was probably not more than $5. I liked all the colors & the peacocks. And I loooooved the scalloped edges. So I bought it! :)

Okay. I just HAD to share this one. :)

My life can go on now that I know I only missed two days last week. ;)

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Boy was I a total slacker this week! I seriously do not know what is up with me. I've been SO TIRED since last week. {I'm not pregnant so don't get any ideas.} The tired has just gotten to me. So in the process, I missed taking THREE pictures this week! Pathetic. I will strive never to let this happen again. I haaaaaaaaate disappointing myself, it's the worst. I know I know, it's only picture-taking. No biggie, I know I'll live. It's still annoying to me. So I've just felt a little "off" the last couple weeks which is why I haven't really posted much, never got around to finishing up my vlog from last week, didn't get to really shoot my vlog for this week, and why I am wearing my husband's sweatpants for the third day in a row (I haven't done my laundry for two weeks. I have plenty of underwear to last me. And clothes, apparently!!).

I spent all of last night sick as ever ~ so sick, in fact, that I weighed in at a delightful 110 pounds this morning. Three pounds in one night!! {This is where I insert my sarcastic double thumbs up, as if this is a pleasant way to lose weight. Notsomuch.} This morning, as I wavered between consciousness and a very clammy dreamland, I felt like Death had come to find me. However, I am a Mom. Therefore, I had to pick myself up anyways {ten minutes to leave-time} and shower so I could make it to the girls' school for the Easter Egg Hunt. I was the only parent there to help out all 3 classrooms in the Early Learning Center (ELC for short, from now on). {Sidenote: I really enjoy being a Room Mom. It is a nearly perfect level of involvement for me with the school & the kids. I really do love it!! It's like being a grandparent ~ I get to come for all the fun, but I get to give them back to their teachers at the end of the party! :) And of course, as a parent with two in the classroom I do feel more of a responsibility/interest in what goes on in the classroom.}

It was not difficult work, I "hid" eggs all over the school's backyard. And helped, somewhat, to supervise all the kids. Easy peasy, I even felt a little better after it was all over. The brisk air and sunshine totally helped. That said, I still feel "weak". I think last night's sick episode was in part to my tiredness lately, the food I ate for dinner, the amount of food I consumed yesterday as a whole (haha!), and the fact that I downed a small glass of orange juice before I went to sleep. Orange juice does that to me nearly every time. I should know better. I basically should have avoided the oily food at dinner, in combination with the candy & snacks I muched on, and other treats consumed. Whatever. I didn't really live & learn because there will be another time that I will stuff myself sick with candy. This was not the first time I have gotten sick from eating too much candy. I LOVE CANDY. Aaaaaaaaand, scene.

Hey so this is a Project365 post so I will now become focused on the task at hand. Like I mentioned, this week was well... weak, as far as number of pictures. Haha! Here they are anyways!!

{This is Starbuck van Inverness. Our painted turtle. We found him on my parents' driveway!}

Missed Day 109.

{happy happy}

{Junie, totally pleased with her Egg Hunt treasures!}

Please don't forget to grab my button and link your Project365 posts right at the bottom of this post! Thanks so much for reading, looking, and stopping by! Sorry I've been absent this week... I'll try not to let such a long break go between posts. Have a great Friday!!

I'll be back later with another post unrelated to this. BUT. I just wanted to state, officially and on record, that it makes me angry to hear that Facebook takes down pictures of breastfeeding. (I do understand the censoring it if a nipple is visible.) My sisters are 19, and no offense to their friends, but I can go on any one of their pages and find several images that are far more provocative than breastfeeding.

I have a friend from high school who actually works with Mark Zuckerberg at Facebook (like this guy is actually on Zuck's team!!). I'm going to take it upon myself to try and get this changed. I have a foot in the door, right? (Well, my friend has HIS foot in the door AND a new baby that his wife is breastfeeding.)

I believe Facebook needs to reevaluate what IS and what ISN'T appropriate. Pictures of underage drinkers, with their cleavage hanging out, boobs painted over, etc... how can that be okay to post, but not a picture of my baby eating her food? I've seen many more "offensive" pictures in my time than the ones I've seen of myself breastfeeding our baby.

Monday, April 18, 2011

We had Chinese food tonight. I feel stuffed. I really like crab rangoon. I also really like shrimp toast but only from this one place in La Jolla... the Mandarin House. YUM. They also have the best cashew chicken in the entire world. It's the truth.

It was a long day. I don't have a Shoot & Edit for this week. I didn't do any laundry. I did run some errands.

We now own a mop. I even splurged on some Seventh Generation Natural Dishwasher Gel to test it out. It's phosphate and chloride (?) free. Whatever it's not supposed to have isn't in there, and that's good. I've been really unhappy with our current dish detergent for a while.... it always leaves a residue, and I hate having to buy rinsing agents in addition to detergent. You know? So we'll see. Our old stuff leaves a white film/dust on our dishes. It drives me CRAZY. I hope this new stuff does the job without leaving that gross stuff all over. Actually, after I wrote that last sentence I checked the dishwasher which is now done. The dishes are pretty spotless. I'll give it another couple loads before I make my final decision.

I found some good peanut-free candies to stuff inside eggs for Easter. Yay!! I'll have to have a special Halloween for Snowdrop each year. I picked up Easter grass for 25 cents a bag. I thought this was a good deal. I'm excited for Easter. I love making & hiding baskets for the girls!!!

I broke my No Baby Clothes resolution today in order to purchase an Easter dress for Magnolia. See, Junie had one that I had gotten last year for $8 from Gap (wait until you see it, it's so cute!). And Snowdrop had received one from being born (also from Gap, sized for this year though!) that she could wear at Easter. So... they both had new dresses and poor Mags kept saying how she didn't have a new dress to wear. She sounded so pathetic that I thought I'd head on down to the local children's resale shoppe and have a look. I ended up buying 4 dresses (I can return what didn't work) from there and one from TJ Maxx. As it turns out, the one from TJ Maxx ($12.99 as opposed to the $4.50 - $8.50 range from the resale shoppe) went better with the other dresses and really was more what I was looking for... so. $12.99 broke my resolution. I don't actually feel badly about it though for several reasons. Mainly that I love Mags and she's been doing so great at potty training and I'm just so proud of her. I really wanted her to have something special. So see, totally a good reason to break my resolution. But now, I'm back on the No Baby Clothes from now on. I'll be returning the other dresses to the store this week. :)

Sorry I've been sort of slow-going with the posts this week. I know I STILL have not posted about my tailbone injury. Gosh, it's just that I feel like it's a story full of complaints. Basically, my tailbone/pelvis is still in recovery from giving birth to Snowdrop. It's a touchy (ha) situation. It's frankly kind of embarrassing!! So I'm going back to PT. I love my physical therapist so I'm glad we'll get to hang a bit more BUT I'm tired of this tailbone. I just want to feel like I did before Snowdrop came out. I joked a few months after she was born that I should have opted for the repeat c-section instead of the VBAC. At that time, I figured I would be healing shortly.... A year later, I'm definitely thinking I should have gone for a c-section!!! :) Oh well, can't turn back time and I'm not getting into this now so..... Moving on...

The Naptime Momtog has a big day tomorrow with her son, Carsyn, who is having an MRI to investigate his development a little further. Please keep her in your prayers tonight and tomorrow. Please also keep a friend of mine in your prayers. She just went in for her 20 week ultrasound only to discover that her beautiful baby Girl, Annabelle Lucille, has anencephaly. Anencephaly is the absence of a large part of the brain and the skull. It is a terminal issue and Annabelle won't live beyond birth or a few days. I am absolutely heartbroken for my friend and her family. It's quite unimaginable what they must be going through right now... I just wish there was some way I could make everything okay, you know? So if you could say some prayers too for them, please. Thanks!!

I don't mean to leave on such a sad note but I really don't have anything else to say. I'm pooped and I'm going to bed. :)

Sunday, April 17, 2011

{This IS an edit from Day 94 but the quote is new as of today. I immediately thought of this picture when I saw one of the items was "poetry". I didn't have to look far for the quote either; LMA is one of my favorite writers.}

Saturday, April 16, 2011

I got the original recipe for Crockpot Chicken from Amber at Paint Chips & Frying Pans (she's pretty much a genius!) It's such an easily adaptable recipe, that I have found many ways to prepare it in the last few months. {I also make homemade chicken broth right afterwards using her broth instructions. EDITED TO ADD: My Broth Instructions. I leave the crockpot on overnight - and it's so delightful to wake up to the smell of fresh broth in the morning... I am so weird, I know!} ANYWAYS, so like I was saying, this recipe is easily adaptable. So if you don't like the ingredients I used for my "recipe" then switch out things you would like. Easy Peasy, let's get started. I am including a few pictures to show you how I do this.

I usually get a 3-5 lb chicken, depending on the current price and if I have a coupon (I'll get a really big one if I have a coupon.) We only eat organic meat (or all-natural-as-close-to-organic-without-being-organic-meat). The chicken I used today {JustBare Chicken, which is available at regular grocery stores.} is 3.91 pounds at $2.29/pound. {Organic drumsticks from Trader Joe's cost around $1.99/lb so I think this is a good price around here.} The total was $8.95, and I had a $1 coupon. This chicken will feed our family (5 of us) for at least 3 days (not every meal, I'm saying at least one meal a day for the next 3 days if not more than that). At regular cost, not counting the coupon, at 3 days of use the chicken cost .59 cents per serving. I think that is a DEAL! And I haven't even rolled in the savings of making my own broth from said chicken. Even more deals to be had there! {I might be trying to make a point that eating organic/all-natural can be affordable when you really break it down! It's so healthy, too!}

Crockpot Chicken

1 Whole Chicken, rinsed well and patted dry

1 - 1/2 good sized Onions {cut up all veggies how you like them}

Some Celery

Some Mushrooms

Some Carrots

Some Garlic

1 good sized Apple

Season Salt and/or Spices {Lawry Salt is a favorite around here! I'm just using season salt today.}

Apple Juice {about 1/2 cup}

All of that goes in a crockpot for 5 1/2 - 6 hours on High. Of course, if you use a really tiny chicken, it won't need 6 hours. Adjust accordingly, okay?

I adjust the liquid to match the seasonings ~ Lawry Salt pretty much goes with anything. I would totally pair oranges with Asian spices. Or lemons with a garlicky-pepper-Greek sauce. YUM.

Veggies/Fruits ~ I've done this with just potatoes and carrots. I've done this with just potatoes. I've done it without the apple. I've used lemons, and oranges. Anything works as long as you like it. You don't even have to use veggies but I promise it will taste better if you do.

{Part of me imagines stuffing a bird with peanut butter and Asian spices & veggies and dousing it in some sort of soy-ginger-yummy-sauce. Our daughter has a peanut allergy so I can't do this, unfortunately. But YOU could. So do this and then please enjoy it for me, ok?} :)

Note to Parents: I have also found that involving my kids in the slightest way of preparing dinner (letting them dump the veggies in the pot, or put the lid on, or wash the veggies, whatever) helps get me to get them to eat it once it's ready. Just sharing.

This is a really easy peasy recipe but there is some work involved before you can just throw everything in the crockpot. I mean, technically, you could just throw it all in there. But let's do this my way, okay? ;)

Cut up your onions, garlic, carrots, celery, mushrooms, whatever you're using. Cut them however you like. I don't care if they're chopped, diced, in big slices, whatever. Reserve about a handful of the onion & apple so you can stuff those inside the chicken when we get to that part! If you forget or don't feel comfortable sticking your hand inside a chicken, then no biggie. It won't ruin the meal.

Throw the veggies into the crockpot with enough olive oil (or butter, if your daughter isn't also allergic to milk...) to just coat them. Add some of the spices (the rest are going on the chicken). Let that cook down for a bit while you rinse your chicken very well and pat it dry. {The Pioneer Woman was once very insistent on her blog about rinsing meat well before you cook it. I haven't looked back since and am a rigid meat rinser now. Not that I wasn't before... but just so much more diligent about it now.}

Now, rub the meat (haha) with the spices and let it sit there for a minute. Then take the extra handful of onion/apples/whatever you saved to stuff the bird with, and stuff that bird. It doesn't have to be stuffed full but I think a little bit of something inside the bird helps to flavor it. I usually try to close it up with toothpicks since I don't have those fancy meat hook-closer things.

{sorry, forgot to rotate this}

Stir the veggies one more time and gently place the chicken right on top of them.

Put the lid on the crockpot and set the timer.

I normally cook a bird for 6 hours on High. It's probably ready around 5 1/2 hours and sometimes we eat it then. Do what makes you comfortable, I err on the side of overcooking just in case. :)

Also, some people feel okay leaving the crockpot on when you leave the house.

I'm a 'fraidy cat so I don't do that but you can if you own big girl pants.

About an hour after you put the bird in (or really, you can do this WHEN you put the bird in, I just normally do it a bit later), take a bit of juice/dressing/liquid you have chosen to use (I usually just eyeball it ~ it's about 1/2 cup) and drizzle it over the bird. You don't want to drown the bird in liquid. I wouldn't put much more than 1/2 cup in there because the chicken will make it's own liquid, too. I usually flip the chicken over around the halfway mark & then flip it back again about half hour before I'm gonna serve it. Periodically, spoon some of the juice from the crockpot over the chicken. I *think* this is called Basting?

The chicken always comes out nice & juicy, and the veggies are nice and yummy too. {Mine is still cooking so I have no "after" pictures yet.} And like I mentioned, this lasts us for DAYS. We use it for sandwiches, snacks, with potatoes, it can go into soup, tacos, etc.

It's so versatile as far as recipes go and I couldn't be happier!

This is one of my favorite things to make and my family LOVES it. I can't beat that!

{After dinner, I take all the meat off the bones & then I stick the bones and all the other "stuff" back into the crockpot with some more veggies and spices (especially a bay leaf or two!). I cover that with water and crockpot it for another 10-12 hours on low to make my own broth. When that's done & cooled, I drain the liquid and package 2 cups/ziplock. And then I freeze them flat so I can store them like files in my freezer. I will take pictures when I make the broth and post a true how-to on that soon.}

Friday, April 15, 2011

I cropped it to start. The lights on the ceiling were REALLY bugging me. I was drawn to them and not to my brother. {There wasn't much time to set up the pictures. There were over 200 Confirmands that morning so it wasn't really a sit & chat sort of event.} I adjusted the sharpness (motion blur), and brightened/contrasted the picture a bit. Then adjusted the color curves by darkening the highlights. But I really didn't like how it looked.

So I converted it to B&W and called it a day.

Now that I'm looking at it, I totally should have cloned out the part of the light that is still there. Oh well. :)

Hey Everyone!! Sorry I was not able to check out everyone's pictures last weekend (from last week's P365). We were out of town at my parents and then this week has seriously been BUSY. But I am still putting up a linky and this weekend I'll have more time to check out your pictures & hopefully even have time to check out last week's! :) Now on with the show! I only missed one day this week. It was Monday, the day after we got back. I'm somewhat not surprised. :)

Project365 ~ Days 98 to 104

{Junie won these lacing cards in the school monthly raffle! Perfect game for road trips!}

Thanks for stopping by and checking out our pictures from this week! The linky will be up until Monday at 11:59pm. So you have all weekend to get your pictures in! :)

Question: Are you planning on making an album specifically of your P365 pictures? With my pictures, I plan on printing each one with the "Day" on it and putting it in an album. I think I might do one of JUST these pictures. Not positive yet, but I'd love to know what other people do with their project pictures. I have time to decide.

Thanks again for stopping by and don't forget to go check out what everyone else has linked! :) Have a fabulous Friday! :)